Brittle
by RaineJoybringer
Summary: The metaphor of night, ironic – the dark cover of death, or awakening to its depth? She couldn’t say, but she had been told long ago that those two paths would end up being the destiny of their kind – the Claymores. OC-centric.
1. How to Face Facts

**Disclaimer: **Claymore is not mine.

**A/N:** Seriously, I dunno if I'll ever get around to adding more. More a test than anything. Anyway, hope you enjoy. (Damn formatting, got rid of the line breaks)

* * *

**Brittle - Chapter One: How to Face Facts**

The sky was fading to a spectrum of colours, the sun glowing gold on the horizon and sparkling through cracks in the forest. She watched the light speckle on her hand, jumping around energetically like it was trying to savour those last few moments before the night took over.

How long would it be until the night took over her: the metaphor of night, ironic – the dark cover of death, or awakening to its depth? She couldn't say, but she had been told long ago that those two paths would end up being the destiny of their kind – those the humans called 'Claymores'.

* * *

**Years before…**

"Tch, what the hell are they thinking? Sending a _trainee_ out into the field so early? They haven't even given her a symbol yet, let alone a freakin' number! I don't want to look after her!" The woman scowled down at the girl beside her, obviously annoyed at her presence. The girl's movements were meek at the comments.

"Please… don't talk like I'm not here," she said quietly. Her fingers intertwined with themselves nervously.

"I'll talk however I freakin' want, you little runt," the woman retorted, still glaring. The girl walking beside her was definitely no warrior she'd seen before, a gangly short thing that seemed incapable of carrying the large sword on her back. The woman sniffed irritably and tucked back a lock of blonde hair, her style unkempt and on the wild side. It was a contrast to the young girl who had clearly put an effort into looking her best for this day.

"The Organisation told me if I wanted to promote to a number, I needed to gain experience in the field working alongside you, Number 23." The girl paused, thinking to herself for a moment. She wanted to prove herself, really she did. "All of the other girls in-training were sent out too. I know a few were given two to look after as well."

The woman's mouth twitched. "Doesn't mean I'm any better off with you having to hang off my arm. Geez, is the Organisation so shorthanded they need to send little girls out to free up resources for more experiments? Before you know it they'll be sending out failures." She shot a glance down at the girl again, wondering just what kind of person the old fogies had paired her up with.

"I'm… not sure why they have changed the training program so quickly," muttered the girl. She looked up at the woman with the same silver eyes. "Is it because the boys are gone? I used to hear them in the other complex until a few weeks ago."

A clear shiver ran down the woman's back. She frowned at the distant horizon. "That's none of your concern, and hardly any of mine either. We are given jobs by the Organisation, and we complete them. We're not meant to engage in politics. You talk too much for a trainee, you know. It's annoying."

The girl murmured an apology. They walked in silence for a few miles, the afternoon sun beating down upon them.

"What's your name anyway, kid? I wasn't paying attention to the old guy when he handed you over."

"It's Valerie. Please take good care of me."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, yeah, enough with the formalities. And from before, don't call me by my number, I have a name too ya know."

Valerie nodded. "Okay, Hazel."

* * *

Hazel hated it when people didn't thank her. "Freakin' morons, least they could do is show a little respect. And fearful awe doesn't count, damn it," she muttered under her breath.

"He-here's the money!" A man approached and held out a small black bag, the coins jingling around inside as he shook with terror.

"Just give the money to the man in black when he comes, I have no need for it. Next time, learn the proper procedures for hiring us, old man." Hazel turned her back on him.

The jingling of the money quietened down. "Uh, will the young one be alright?" he asked nervously. He seemed to ask out of fear of being rude rather than concern.

"None of your business, but she'll be fine. She's just a clumsy idiot." She took off towards the west gate of the town, carrying the girl in her arms. Valerie chewed on her bottom lip, fighting back tears. She gripped a finger on her right tightly, trying hard to reattach the severed digit to the stump.

"I'm sorry I failed…" she sniffed.

Hazel sighed and gave a roll of her eyes. "It's what you get for being careless in battle. I haven't seen someone with such pathetic control in all my life. You could hardly even take on that simple yoma by yourself without using your yokai too. It was flickering all over the place. Geez, if you're not careful you'll end up turning into one."

Valerie kept muttering apologies repeatedly until a hand clamped itself over her mouth.

"Shut it, I hate weaklings that feel like sorry will make up for everything. _Actions_, Valerie. If you want to apologise, work your sorry ass off to make up for it." She dumped the girl onto the ground and continued walking. "'Sides, it's my ass on the line too. I'm _not_ going to let myself look bad for having a weakling like you get promoted."

"Please teach me whatever you can," replied Valerie, picking herself up and running after Hazel. "I'll do whatever you tell me to do!"

"Better listen hard then, I got a lot of advice and I'm sure as hell hoping you got enough room in that skull of yours for it. But first I want you to tell me something…"

Valerie blinked. "Yes?"

"What'd they do to you, to make you so pathetic?" Hazel raised an eyebrow. "Don't skip around the question, just answer the damn thing."

Silence reigned for a minute or so as the girl struggled to find words. "They told me they were trying to find alternate ways of transplanting…" More silence for a moment. "Something about my bones, I'm not sure."

"The Organisation… always keeping the community informed," muttered Hazel bitterly. "You the only one that survived then? They usually do these sorts of things in 'batches'."

Valerie shook her head. "There were two others that lived, but they still had their normal hair colour."

"Failures, then," interjected Hazel. "And you're the unlucky one that passed. Guess they won't be making any more of your kind then if they're going to turn out as weak as you. And you're supposed to be an offensive type too, tch."

The young Claymore's shoulders drooped at the words. It was always the same, weak this and disappointment that. But underneath all that, she didn't care that much. If anything, she was afraid. This unique part of her, what would it mean? She hadn't told Hazel, but there had been another girl that survived and had been labelled a "success" at first. Sitting in her cell next to the other girl's, a few days later she'd heard screaming as though an animal was dying. People came running. She could only stare in disbelief when they'd carted the body out – it was like a puppet. The limbs hung everywhere, floppy, unsupported by anything. She heard someone murmur in the chaos 'her bones dissolved into dust', and fear had struck her. Would she suffer the same fate?

But she'd made a decision – live this life, fight, defend, show she made a difference no matter how short the time was. And every little step she'd make would feel like a miracle.

The forest was dark as they walked through, miles away from the town by now. Hazel veered off to the right to a small clearing, planting her sword in the ground that Valerie had learnt was the signal for making camp for the night and waiting. The girl followed suit, clumsily stabbing the earth until her sword stayed upright. They sat in the darkness, dozing slightly, or just simply staring at the sky.

"You should really light a fire so I can tell where you are," came a voice from nearby. A young man stepped out from some bushes, waving aside the branches trying to slap him in the face. "Just because I'm new doesn't mean you should go about hazing me in such a manner."

"Suck it up, Lialm. You're my handler – you're supposed to be able to _handle_ situations like these." Hazel gave an aloof look at the young man dressed in black.

He gave her an exasperated look before frowning. "If I was a less lenient handler, I'd have reported you to the Organisation."

"Hmm… let's just say I didn't light a fire so I wouldn't attract any bandits to attack our cute little newbie here." Hazel raised an eyebrow, gesturing over at Valerie. "How about that? You guys are short on numbers as it is, it's more of a survival game at the moment."

Lialm kept frowning. "You say you don't like getting into politics and then you say that to me."

"Just stating the truth," replied the woman casually.

"For number 23 of 25, you sure are much too cocky," muttered Lialm. Whatever he was going to say next became stuck in his mouth as he found Hazel towering over him, the woman at least a head taller.

"Don't dare bring my status into this, not while the Organisation is running around headless from their own foolish mistakes. The warriors that still fight for them are their saviours and we damn well deserve better respect. Even if we're not the Organisation's precious male warriors, we're still fighting and winning all the same!" Hazel's fists were clamped tightly shut. Finally she gave a huff and sat down next to her sword again, arms crossed.

Lialm seemed like a small child told off by his mother, in between wanting to argue back but knowing it was fruitless. He grumbled to himself lightly. "I have a new mission for you – Frieda Harbour has requested our assistance."

"Again? Geez, I was there just a couple months ago."

"Regardless, they're a wealthy town and have done well on their payments before." Lialm gave a glance over at Valerie. "I believe your 'cute little newbie' was born there."

Hazel gave a look back at her trainee. The girl's face had gone pale, probably as soon as she'd heard Frieda mentioned. It didn't take much to connect the likely situation the girl had gone through: kid born into town with almost-regular attacks by youma; family succumbs to one; kid survives but is shunned out of the village; is taken in by the Organisation. It was a story known far too well. But going back to your hometown after something like that… after instead of receiving not help but stones thrown at you… it would be tough to go back, even if they wouldn't recognise you.

The woman frowned, hating that sense of pity. Pity would get her nowhere, and more importantly, get the girl nowhere if she took it easy on her. She gave a careless glimpse at her handler. "We'll be there by tomorrow afternoon. We'll get your payment."

Lialm, fed up with the arguments, simply nodded and disappeared back into the darkness.

"Better keep your wits about you tomorrow, kid. Don't let any feelings you have get in the way of finishing your job." She watched as Valerie gave a shaky nod.

* * *

The dream was always the same… Valerie woke up with the feeling of warmth over her eyes. Sunlight managed to penetrate the dense forest and dapple the ground around her. The fear of the nightmare was lingering, but it evaporated as she took slow breaths through her nose, the smell of dewy grass calming her. She stared up at the mottled sunlight glad that today had arrived for her and the night had not crept over to claim her.

"About time you got up," muttered a voice. Metal clicked as Hazel placed her armour on. "We gotta get to Frieda before the afternoon, earlier if we can. Or else we'll be barging down people's doors to find this thing."

Clumsy clanging sounded as Valerie raced to secure her own armour. Hazel stretched while she waited, giving small looks of curiosity occasionally. How _would_ this turn out? She'd never been back to her hometown herself, but the thought of it was something unimaginable. Well, mostly because her entire hometown had been burnt to the ground, but still… The irritated look on her face made Valerie pause for a moment before going even faster with placing on her armour. She awkwardly pulled her sword from the ground, stumbling slightly before managing to slide it into place on her back.

"Let's go," she said. Hazel could hear the tension in it despite the girl's best efforts.

"You don't have to pretend to be strong about this," replied the older Claymore, brushing aside branches on their way through the forest. "Not to me anyway, you're too obvious. But you make sure you do a better job of it in front of the people who are paying us. Freakin' customer service… Only a matter of time until the Organisation will drop the crap. Once they've made villages dependant on them for protection I guess. Until then we gotta rebuild their trust again."

Valerie listened with a frown. It seemed like there was just so much she was being left out on. The reason for the sudden disappearance of all the boys at the training academy, Hazel's outburst last night, and even the push to place trainees such as herself out on the field so quickly. Something wasn't right.

"Hazel…?" The girl flinched as the woman glanced back. "Please, I want to know… About what you said about the male warriors?"

"I said politics wasn't any of our concern," she grumbled back.

"But last night…"

The woman continued to mutter under her breath until she let out a loud sigh. "Really, there isn't much to work out, Valerie. The male warriors are gone simply because the Organisation didn't have the common sense to control them. When, no, _if_, you graduate, then you'll be part of the first generation of all-female warriors working for them. Geez, so much talking – I've never spoken this much in what I do in half a year. It's really freakin' annoying."

Thoughts ticked over in Valerie's mind. _Simply gone…_

Simply gone?

So the boys at the academy…

"Dead…?" she whispered.

"About time you realised," grunted Hazel. "Now hurry up, you're slacking off."


	2. How to Gain Experience

**Disclaimer: **Claymore is not mine.

**A/N: **Here we are, chapter two. I think I updated a little quicker than I usually do, haha...

* * *

**Brittle - Chapter Two: How to Gain Experience  
**

It seemed so hard to believe – that the Organisation would kill off their own warriors. How? Why? Even though she'd been told she was close to being a failure, the trainers had always emphasised how important it was that the job be completed and that all humans were to be protected. If those two things were so significant, then why do this and impede themselves?

Valerie felt her entire being shiver with fear from this unknown scenario. If some of the male warriors they had were rogue, then there would be some explanation there… but to kill even those little boys they were training? Wasn't that a bit too far?

And yet here she was, going along to complete a job with these thoughts heavy on her shoulders. Nothing seemed so black and white to her now.

"We're here," announced Hazel, breaking the girl from her daze. "But of course you'd know that, right?"

The hill rolled down towards the sea, sparkling bright with the afternoon sun. A town… no, a _city_ lay before them, all centred on the harbour which brought it prosperity. A large wall surrounded the place, an imposing barrier from this viewpoint. The memories were fuzzy, but the sense of familiarity was somewhat warming despite her circumstances – one that both made her frightened and excited at the prospect of finding an old face. "No time to waste," she breathed.

"You got that right. Let's get it over and done with so we can leave already. Freakin' humans and their huge shining beacon-cities of 'dinner's served'…" Hazel's voice trailed off as she went ahead. Valerie ran to catch up.

* * *

"Two Claymore, eh? Situation must be worse than what the mayor's letting out. But…" The man at the gates raised an eyebrow as he looked down at Valerie. "You're pretty short for a Silver-Eyed Witch."

Hazel was still grumbling. She wrinkled her nose at him. "She's a trainee, dumbass."

"No way to treat the gatekeeper, Miss Hazel," replied the man with a flat look. "Considering I'm pretty much the only one 'ere who'll give ya the respect you need."

"Yeah, yeah, the usual 'thanks for saving my family'-crap. At least someone knows how to give it." The edges of Hazel's mouth twitched – a rare smile perhaps? "So where is the damn thing already?"

The man rubbed his chin thoughtfully, going over the information in his mind. "Usually they stick by the outskirts of town, but this one's been acting differently."

"They were smart enough to stay on the outskirts so they could have a quick escape route," explained Hazel. She clenched a fist, joints cracking in her way of showing she meant business. She frowned. "I'm sure everyone has been talking about a visit from me as usual?"

He nodded. "Same precautions as always – circle the rumour of a Claymore coming to investigate, see if that'll drive it off or not."

Valerie listened carefully, making sure to take the details in. Although it was a mission, it was still her duty to learn. What Hazel was doing made sense – sleuthing for clues on the whereabouts and its behaviour before going out to find it. It would be easier to do this than simply running around town all day trying to pick up on the youma's yokai, which was obviously hidden in the first place. "Has it tried to escape?" she asked, trying to have some input as well.

The man gave a small snort of interest that such a short girl would be attempting to follow the lead of her teacher. As if one Hazel wasn't bad enough… "Not from what we've heard. The blokes have been watching the walls constantly and there's no sign. Couple people disappeared from the docks again before sunrise. Bad sign really, never heard of one going so far into the centre of town. The harbour area is supposed to be safe."

"Sounds like the freakin' thing is too concerned about its appetite than escaping," muttered Hazel. "It probably won't leave until it's either dead or that the place is too much trouble."

"I know which option you'll be going for," commented the man with a grin.

"Complete elimination. It's what we're paid for after all." The Claymore mirrored the grin back before it elapsed into a grim look. "Let's go."

Armour rattled as the two entered the city. The man at the gates watched them disappear down the hillside.

"You better not die, Hazel. You're the first reliable Claymore this place has had in a while." He turned back to watch the forests being caressed by the sea breezes.

Hazel's eyes shifted back and forth as they walked the almost-empty avenue. The last time she had been here, there had been more activity than this. Despite the youma attacks, the people had learnt to continue with life, but now was a different story. Having attacks in the harbour where the most activity was in the first place had definitely frightened the townsfolk indoors. For her, this wasn't good. "I'll admit something I hate to say," she grumbled. "My yokai-sensing abilities aren't exactly the best."

Valerie glanced up at her teacher. "How have you completed missions before this?"

The woman gave her a dark glare for questioning her. "There's such thing as instinct and tracking, ya know. But tracking is a bit harder in an environment like this. Instead of looking for clues like broken twigs and disturbances on the ground, you're following a more mental path that you have to work out. And from there you narrow down the suspects, likely places it is hiding or going to, and what targets they're bound to go after. A lot of youma tend to have preferences in the type of people they pick off."

Valerie nodded her understanding. This would be what she'd need to do as well for the time being. Perhaps in the future she would be more experienced in sensing yokai, but as things were, she would have to learn Hazel's way of doing things. "The certain type of people it likes must be at the harbour…" she said thoughtfully.

"Heh, seems like someone's into seafood then," smirked Hazel. Seeing her young charge's confused look she furrowed her brow. "The one time I try to make a joke and it's wasted on you… The bastard likes sailors from fishing vessels. They're the only ones who'd be at the docks at that time of morning. And if I'm right, then we'll find no boats have left them yet because they don't want to be ambushed when they come back to dock."

As they neared the harbour, the number of people began to rise, although the tension in the air was almost overwhelming – like a flock of wary birds ready to take flight at any moment. Nervous glances were cast at the two warriors as they continued to walk. They were unsteady; Valerie felt uneasy.

"This isn't going to do, us walking around like this," murmured Hazel. "The thing wouldn't be out at this time of day anyway."

"Why not?" asked Valerie. "It could be anyone of these people, couldn't it?"

Hazel frowned. "It's late afternoon and the thing doesn't seem to care if we're here or not. If it's attacking sailors, then it would be more concerned about finding a good place to jump out of to attack instead of trying to blend into the community. But then… youma do strange things."

Valerie sighed quietly. It _was_ a possibility that they were wrong in the creature's behaviour, but they could only go on what they knew and hope they were right. Hazel seemed to have good enough judgement though. It was funny, the feeling she had walking down this street. It was so close to being familiar, yet everything still so strange at the same time. Like a dream. She glanced at the few faces that dared to show themselves – certain features stood out, but older, more frightened at her gaze, twisted differently from what she was sure used to be smiles. She couldn't help but feel intimidated. It was a feeling even worse than that of being in other towns, and she wished she could run.

But no… she was a warrior. And a warrior should never cry before those she is meant to protect.

"I have a plan." Hazel had a confidently sly look on her face. Valerie blinked, wondering what it was. Her expression seemed like she'd hit upon something ingenious.

* * *

Ingenious… _sure_… Valerie wrinkled her nose at the smell of rotten fish that clung to the inside of the barrel. She was glad she was wearing metal boots – the swirling gunk at the bottom wasn't something she wished to think about. She'd been covered in all kinds of stuff fighting youma, but this was certainly a new, smellier, one.

She edged up a little from her hiding place to tug at the canvas covering the barrel to let some air in. Hazel had been so sure she'd be able to fit inside the barrel, which was true, but it was the sword that was the problem. The thing stuck out the top like a shining beacon in the night. In the end, after some quiet bickering, she'd tossed a piece of canvas over the top to fix it, and make the whole thing an even worse experience with the smell.

Valerie wouldn't admit it, but hiding in that smelly barrel seemed actually preferable to that afternoon walking with all those stares upon her. She shook head slightly to wake up from thinking about earlier. There was still the mission to finish and Hazel was always badmouthing her about how easily her mind wandered. There were things she had to keep a check on: keeping her yokai low; staying as still as possible; observing for any signs of the youma outside; any signs from Hazel as well. Valerie peeped out again to where her teacher was hiding, behind the doors of a large shed. The doors were cracked open slightly, and Valerie saw the glint of light from Hazel's eyes. She was watching like a hawk. Valerie turned her attention back to the main dock. She'd work hard at this!

Hours later, as an extremely faded red began to creep over the horizon, Valerie was still staring at the docks. There had been nothing so far – only the sounds of the sea lapping at the harbour walls. There had been an ominous feeling growing the entire night though. The flickering of enemy yokai, or her own paranoia? Valerie cursed her inexperience.

Wait… she heard something. The far off ringing of a bell was coming from the sea. In the distance she could spot the outline of a fishing vessel with glowing lamps. She watched as it slowly came towards shore, though it seemed to pause at the harbour entry, hesitating as if those on board knew they were about the run the gauntlet. Valerie checked the docks, then back at where Hazel was. The woman's eye was trained on something. Valerie followed her gaze, trying to pinpoint what she was staring at.

Wood creaked. Under the planks of the jetty, something flickered between the small gaps.

Valerie's breath cut short. Was it beneath the jetty? That whole time had something been under there?

The boat edged towards the docks again, the crew knowing they couldn't put it off. Valerie gulped. That dreadful feeling… nobody was here to greet them back to shore. Their families back at home likely hoping all night their fathers would be alright… When the crew stepped off onto the jetty, they had no idea what would be awaiting them.

The young warrior's brows furrowed. This creature would not be allowed to take lives this day.

Nervous voices came from the docking boat. The wet slap of nets of fish landed on the jetty. Quiet footsteps and creaking wood signalled the crew disembarking. Their human ears could not hear the scratching underneath the jetty as the creature neared closer.

"Be careful when you get to the sheds," muttered one of the men. "One of the fellas from the other boat got taken there a couple nights back."

Murmurs as the crew voiced their understanding. The clink of knives as they were unsheathed – normally used to scale fish, but now the only thing that could possibly save their lives.

The harbour was so quiet, so peaceful.

"LAY DOWN! NOW!" A scream echoed across the water.

It was a blur: flashes of silver, thundering footsteps, wood splintering. Men fell, pushed aside into the ocean below. Brief glimpses at the faces of two females, one grinning manically while the other attempting to look brave. Something roared. Crewmen still on the jetty threw themselves onto the wood as a sword slashed above them.

Hazel gritted her teeth as the youma managed to grab her wrist before she struck. She spat at it and twisted her way around. Her bone snapped as she managed to send the tip of her metal boot into the bottom of its jaw. Blood spurt and bone cracked. The stunned creature let go and stumbled back, screaming inhumanly.

"Valerie! Damn it, girl! Your turn!"

"Got it!" The girl weaved around her teacher, arching the sword that was almost too big for her over her head. She leapt into the air, cleaving the blade into the youma's skull. It became stuck. In the sudden stop, the girl lost grip, landing on her back ungracefully. The youma slumped over, purple blood dribbling from the wound. Valerie scuttled backwards, unsure if it was really dead or not.

Again, the harbour was quiet, holding its breath and trying to come to grips with what just happened.

"You two… Claymore?" asked one of the men in a shaky voice.

Yokai glowed around Hazel's wrist as she repaired the bone with a grunt. "Geez, sneaky bastard got a grip on me. A place like this is annoying to fight in." She gave a glance at the humans. Those that had pushed aside were crawling up the ladders finally, sopping wet and looking bewildered at their dip in the ocean. Hazel gave a 'hmph' of amusement and turned back at the youma. She pulled Valerie's sword from its place and tossed it back at the girl.

Valerie fumbled with it briefly before managing to place it on her back. She gave a long breath of relief. That had been pretty wild before.

"Bastard, putting your filthy claws on me!" roared Hazel, kicking violently into the youma's head and stomping on it occasionally.

Her young charge and the humans around her cringed as they heard bone crack under her foot.

"I'd hate to be a youma if you gotta deal with women like this," muttered one of the men. "She's even scarier than my wife."

"Damn straight," agreed another.

Hazel brushed her hands together, satisfied. "Well, I'll leave this here for you to sort out and show the mayor our job is complete. Valerie, come on."

The girl nodded and walked briskly to catch up. Behind them, the men stared down at the youma, unsure of how to handle the thing.

"You need to put more power into your blows," said Hazel as they continued walking. "The last thing you want is getting your sword stuck in one still kicking. Make the cuts as clean as you can. But… you did well for the situation I gave you."

Valerie paused at the words. "Situ…ation you gave me?"

The woman gave a short bout of laughter. "I'm not that easily stopped, and if you're going to gain experience, me hogging all the kills wouldn't help."

It made sense… kind of. Despite the 'praise' her teacher had given her, it still felt a little off. Valerie hoped this wouldn't always be the situation, however. Truly, she wanted to really prove herself. In _real_ situations, not set-ups like that. Nevertheless, killing that youma should still be a small victory. Valerie glanced back at the harbour. The sun had finally risen over the horizon. It had taken them waiting that whole night to welcome this new day. No blood shed, no life lost – except for the youma's. Today was looking pretty good.

The sun was slightly higher by the time they finally reached the wall. The same man as the afternoon before was standing there, grim-faced. Hazel frowned, pausing before him.

"Let me guess… our job isn't complete," she said in a serious voice, different from the one she had used before with him. "Damn it…"

He nodded. "North-west district near the walls. Guy woke up this morning to find his neighbour and his family had been killed. Nobody heard anything all night, but it has the signs of a youma attack."

Hazel grumbled to herself. This news didn't sit well with her at all. "Nowhere near the docks where we were waiting – couldn't be the same one. Shit." Angrily, the woman turned tail and stormed back into the town, her student following close behind. "Better tell the mayor he's going to have to pay for two!" she yelled over her shoulder.


End file.
